‘Breaking Dawn’ gets big laughs without even trying

By KATIE REDMILES

On the weekend of Feb. 8, Cheap Seats held a double feature event, showing part one and two of “Breaking Dawn.” The movies were the final installment in the ever dramatic and highly popular vampire fantasy series, “Twilight.”

Directed by Bill Condon and produced by Stephanie Meyer, the author of the infamous saga, “Breaking Dawn” parts one and two achieved what the book could not. With a twist ending and upbeat hipster music, the “Breaking Dawn” movie event was amusing to watch.

“Part Two” starts off where “Part One” ended. Edward, played by Robert Pattinson, has just turned Bella, played by Kristen Stewart, into a vampire. They have just found out that her old werewolf love interest, Jacob Black, played by Taylor Lautner, has “imprinted” on her newborn daughter. According to the series, “imprinting” is a werewolf phenomenon where two people are bound together forever in a loving connection.

Not only was the audience disgusted by this plotline, but so was Bella. Watching Stewart beat up Lautner over his unnatural attachment to her daughter was one of the few purposefully humorous scenes in an otherwise accidentally hilarious movie.

Without meaning to, both “Breaking Dawn” movies excelled at making the audience laugh uproariously. The movie was full of gaffs, like cheesy one-liners and the horribly cut werewolf communication voice-overs. In addition, the awkwardness of watching Stewart and Pattinson, a real-life couple, rip each other’s clothes off was uncomfortably funny.

Fans of the books will be impressed with the film adaptation, since it follows the novel almost word for word. The only main difference is in the ending, but many readers who disliked the ending of the book will enjoy Meyer’s attempt to make things more interesting.

To further add to the larger-than-life love affair between human and vampire, the film uses a glossy type of filter and enhances all the deep hues, making the fictional world seem more vivid. The movies emphasize the high romance of Edward and Bella using Christina Perri’s hit song “A Thousand Years” as a sort of theme song for the couple. Both movies reminisce on scenes from the earlier films.

Where “Breaking Dawn” failed the most, however, was in writing and transitions. The films felt awkward because each cut to a new scene was abrupt and harsh. One moment the viewer would be watching Bella unnaturally speed through the woods, the next second the camera was aiming right up her nostrils, head on. It was almost dizzying at times.

The writing itself lacked basic transitions. Too often did one of the characters drop a dramatic sentence in the middle of an intense scene and leave it hanging there in awkwardness, such as at the end of “Part One” when Edward, with his own wife’s blood dripping from his mouth, announces that Jacob imprinted on Bella’s newborn baby. He then proceeds to stare Jacob down and breathe heavily, without any real explanation. Many in the audience laughed at this part.

The poorly administered special effects also added comedy and distaste to the picture. The vampires’ far-too-enhanced gold eyes and the fake baby, Renesmee, were two of the most obvious uses of computer-generated effects.

For the devoted fans, “Breaking Dawn” is true to the “Twilight” plot and genre. For those not so inclined toward the franchise, the last two movies are best watched with a group of people and a good sense of humor.